The history of crypto and XRP, from Bitcoin to today

Every cycle has a story, and the story repeats. This guide walks from Bitcoin's birth in 2008 through the rise of altcoins and Ethereum, the 2017 ICO boom, the SEC lawsuit that defined XRP's history, and the recovery that followed. It ends with an interactive chart that overlays the 2017 and 2021 bull runs against today's market, so you can see the pattern with your own eyes.

Risk disclosure. XRP Pulse Charting is an educational and research tool. Not financial advice. Nothing in XRP Pulse Charting is investment, trading, legal or tax advice, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. Digital assets are highly volatile and you can lose everything you put in. Team Nothing, its associates and affiliated parties are not responsible or liable for any loss, damage or decision made in reliance on this app, its data or its content. Use it at your own risk.

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Bitcoin and the birth of cryptocurrency (2008-2010)

In October 2008, as the global financial system was in crisis, a figure calling themselves Satoshi Nakamoto published a nine-page whitepaper titled 'Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.' It described a way to send money online without a bank in the middle, using a shared ledger called a blockchain maintained by a network of computers reaching agreement through a process called mining. On January 3, 2009, Nakamoto mined the first block, the genesis block, and embedded a newspaper headline from that day: 'The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.' It was both a timestamp and a statement of purpose. The first real Bitcoin transaction came in May 2010, when a programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas, a day now celebrated as Bitcoin Pizza Day. At today's prices, those pizzas cost hundreds of millions of dollars each.

XRP Cycle Comparison Chart

XRP Cycle Comparison: 2017 vs 2021 vs Current

The 2017 and 2021 lines show the full boom-and-bust cycle (10 months each, normalized to 100 at the start). The green line shows the last ~5 months of the current market, shifted so Aug 17, 2026 lines up with Jan 5, 2021 — the early run-up that preceded the April 2021 peak. Overlaying the recent action on that early 2021 setup lets you compare where we stand now to where the 2021 cycle was at the same stage. The Y-axis is logarithmic so a 100% gain looks the same at any price level.

2017-18 Run
2021 Run
Current

2017-18 Run

Aug 2017 – Jun 2018

Start: $0.1778

Peak: $2.7506 (+1447%)

End: $0.6890 (+287%)

2021 Run

Nov 2020 – Sep 2021

Start: $0.2697

Peak: $1.8337 (+580%)

End: $1.0782 (+300%)

Current

May 2026 – Oct 2026

Start: $1.3661

Peak: $1.5723 (+15%)

End: $1.3348 (-2%)

The 2017 run peaked on January 4, 2018 at ~$3.84. The 2021 run peaked on April 14, 2021 at ~$1.96. The current line covers the last ~5 months and is shifted so Aug 17, 2026 aligns with Jan 5, 2021 (the early 2021 run-up). Daily candles sourced from Bitstamp. This chart is for educational comparison only and is not financial advice.